


Stay Out of Trouble

by deathtoallstars



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Badass Rey, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Handcuffs, Mutual Pining, Police Officer Ben Solo
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-30
Updated: 2019-08-15
Packaged: 2020-05-31 08:44:03
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,294
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19422496
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deathtoallstars/pseuds/deathtoallstars
Summary: A rebellious, anarchistic party girl meets her match.Or: The three times Ben arrests Rey, and the one time she arrests him.





	1. Incite to Riot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey is arrested. She tries to keep her attitude to a minimum.

**Chapter One**

* * *

**First Name:** Rey

 **Arresting Officer:** Ben O. Solo

 **Offense:** Incite to Riot

 **Offense Location:** Niima Tavern, Jakku University

 **Offense Time:** Approx. 00:32 

**Disposition:** Held and released, no charges

“Calm down.”

“I _am_ calm,” she shouted. 

The man chuckled. “You’re holding a knife.”

“Do I scare you?” 

He scoffed, “You don’t even know what to do with that.”

“Use the pointy side,” she took a step forward, her arm outstretched. The amusement on his face diminished into overt worry. He tumbled off his barstool, taking his beer with him. The glass shattered across the floor and her boisterous laughter rose to the rafters, causing only a few eyes to study her smile, and his worried glare. 

By this time of the night - rather, _the morning_ \- the sports bar was far too crowded. The music shook the floor as the planet rotated backwards against the movement of the dancing patrons, their vessels far too doused in alcohol to notice the unruly scene unfolding. It was a Thursday night, the drink specials were generous, and the basketball team was going to the playoffs. 

Everyone was celebrating and having a good time. Everyone, including Rey, and her sharpened steak knife. 

“All right,” he held his hands up, surrendering. “Seriously. Enough games.”

She smirked and gripped the knife harder, her knuckles boring white. 

“Do you treat all your dates like this?” 

“I never asked you to buy me a drink,” she countered. 

“You clearly don’t need another,” he mumbled under his breath. 

Rey’s smile settled and spurred an unsettling feeling to ripple through the bar. The pool of her eyes darkened and without hesitation, she flung the knife. Thankfully, the man ducked just in time. It nailed itself into the target, interrupting a dart game with its rattle of energy. The vibration’s pranging noise came to a slow, sturdy stop. 

Every single head turned in her direction. 

_“What the fuck,”_ the man straightened, running his hands through erratic, red hair. “You could have killed me.” 

“I told you to leave me alone,” Rey’s reply was casual. She sounded sober. 

The man pulled his tie straight. He started to undo his cufflinks. “You’re insane.” 

“This guy bothering ya?” A heavy voice interrupted their western showdown. 

Rey glanced over her shoulder at the bar patron. Slowly, she drew her eyes over him. He was white-knuckling a bottle of Yuengling with a beer-belly poking from the hem of his stained shirt. She considered her options, calculated her gains and losses, and even snuck a glance at the glowing exit signs. Everyone waited, clinging to billiard cue sticks and pints of alcohol, waiting with baited breath for her next move. 

Somebody in the corner of the room put a coin in the jukebox and selected a heavy rock song. The electric guitar filled the silence surrounding the man’s pent-up anger and her devious grin. 

One choice was right, the other was fun. And Rey was feeling immortal. 

* * *

“You’re under arrest—” 

“No shit,” Rey retorted. 

The officer let out an impatient sigh before shoving her against the side of his police car. She winced, already battered and bruised from toppling over a pool table, swallowing a punch, and avoiding broken bottles just a few moments earlier. With one hand restraining both of her wrists, the officer used his other to unhook the handcuffs from his utility belt. Rey heard the ratchet unhinge before the cold metal pressed against her veins, spurring her to recoil further against the car. 

“—You have the right to remain silent.” 

She rolled her eyes. 

“Anything you say _can_ and _will_ be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you. Do you have any questions?” 

“Yeah,” she turned her cheek against the glass window. Even in this position, she could not see the officer’s face, only his broad shoulders wedging her to remain still. “Could you have made these cuffs any tighter?” 

His palms wrapped around her wrist. With a single, tempered grasp, he pushed them further down the jagged bar, ignoring her grimace in response. “Anything else?” 

She stayed silent, stirring beneath his weight. 

He nodded his approval. “Do you have a weapon on you?” 

Rey recalled the knife somersaulting through the air. “Nope.” 

“Nothing in your pockets that can harm me? Anything sharp?” 

She shook her head. 

“Speak.”

“No, officer.”

He nodded again. “Spread your legs.”

The question took Rey by surprise, especially coming from a flattering and rather deep, commanding voice. She sputtered, “What?” 

Patience must not have been his virtue. Without warning, he pushed his leg between her knees and nudged her legs apart. A conspicuous feeling rushed over her as he pressed his body against her back, using his weight and the vehicle to steady her inebriated balance. She gasped, feeling her boots slide across the gravel. 

“I need to pat you down. Do I have your permission?” 

Rey nodded silently.

“Please verbalize permission for my body cam.”

“Yes,” Rey’s head lolled on her neck. She could taste vodka in the back of her throat. “Yes, of course.” 

The officer’s weight pressed harshly against her for a moment as he hoisted himself off. Her heart was fluttering in her ribs like a caged animal, demanding freedom. She closed her eyes for a moment and tried to center the world as it spun and spun. The dreaded burnt taste of liquor soothed her thoughts and the problems she’d face when she was sober. 

A brisk, early morning breeze blew across her skin. She shivered, feeling the back of her bare thighs sprout goosebumps. It suddenly dawned on her that she was wearing a high-waisted skirt. She pressed her cheek into the glass window, feeling them warm in the cosmic undertow of his starry gaze. 

The officer knelt into the gravel. He palmed her ankles through her crew socks. “I need to check your boots, as well. Is there anything in your shoes?” 

“No,” Rey stood still. She could feel his hands work diligently, but patiently to untie the laces of her Doc Martens. Careful not to disturb her already-inhibited balance, he lifted one of her feet from the ground and slid the boot from her heel. Rey pressed her chest against the car to not topple over. When he was satisfied she had not hidden contraband from the police, he held her ankle carefully and slid the boot back onto her foot before moving forward to the next side. There was a strange exaltation stemming in her throat. His fingers held her ankles with devotion; a strange simplicity that caused so much internal turmoil. 

Even in the midst of a late spring night, she could feel his eyes lingering on her bare legs as he stood, dragging a match against a striker. They left a carcass of warmth wherever they gazed. His voice hesitated. “What is your name?” 

She huffed, blowing her hair out of her face. “What would you like my name to be?” 

He stayed silent for a moment, giving her time to mull over that answer. Her confidence receded. 

“Rey.” 

“Rey, what?” 

She gave him the surname the adoption center assigned. When her mother had left her in a basket on the doorstep of the fire department, she didn’t have the courtesy to also leave a birth certificate — just a crying baby, wrapped tightly in a blanket, grasping at the sky or for anyone’s attention. As far as Rey was concerned, she was Rey. Just Rey. 

He pressed his hands around her shoulder-blades and continued to frisk. “How old are you, Rey?” 

“Twenty-three.”

“What were you doing at the Niima Tavern tonight?”

“Celebrating the game,” she answered just as fast as he asked. _Which was not lie_ … Finn had sent the invite out around ten. The entire group reserved a booth in the corner and absorbed the drink specials for a few hours. Rey was the only one who extended her stay, heart set on the evening. She adored the chaos, she welcomed the disorder. 

“How much did you drink? Are you under the influence of any other substances?” 

“Sounds like a question for my lawyer,” she slurred. 

He smiled, but Rey could not see it with her head pushed against the window of the police car. She just knew from his hazy reflection off the glass and a strange emitness from his aura. Rey blamed the alcohol on the tangible fizz she felt circulating their presence; an indescribable force of some sort. She closed her eyes, allowing his hands to rifle with her leather jacket. 

“Were you present when the bar fight broke out?” 

“What bar fight?” Rey catechized. 

“You can’t see yourself right now,” his voice was suddenly quieter. “But your have a nice bruise forming beneath your eye and there’s dried blood on your upper lip.”

Sobriety hit her like a truck. The moment he said it, the tingling sensation manifested. It struck her, spreading across her nervous system like a lightning strike. Her jaw was numb and her left eye could not stop wincing. It stung; watering up in her tear ducts. 

How much had she drank? 

“How much did you drink?” He asked again, louder this time. “I just need to know if you need an ambulance.” 

“I’m not sure.” 

“We’ll have to breathalyze you at the station. You seem… responsive.” 

Rey rolled her eyes again. He dug his hands into her pockets and threw her personal articles onto the roof of the car. “Is the school going to find out?” 

Her question took him by surprise. He stopped moving his hands for a moment, his palms pressed firmly against her stomach. “...Niima Tavern is technically on campus grounds. So, yes, the campus police will receive a copy of the report.” 

Rey swallowed. _Fuck._

It wasn’t like she was underage. She couldn’t lose her scholarship for being at the wrong place at the wrong time, right? 

“You’ll most likely be charged with incite to riot.” 

“I didn’t start a riot.” 

“Witness testimony says otherwise,” he commented. “And you tried to flee the scene when we arrived.” 

“Everyone tried to,” she muttered. 

When his hands reached her waist, they lingered for a second too long. She could feel his exhale against the back of her neck, crawling into the shell of her ear. Even after he had pulled his hands away, the heat of his touch blazed in phantom imprints. 

“Too bad I was faster than you,” he mumbled. 

Rey released a low exhale in a controlled hiss. The image of her being tackled into the wet grass crossed her mind, her drunken quarrell rolling in the marsh, his hands fighting to grasp her flailing limbs, the weight of his body easily keeping her still and swallowing mud. 

He rooted through her wallet, looking for anything that could be added to the report. Maybe a baggie, maybe narcotic residue on a rolled dollar bill. Instead, her cheesy smile flashed up at him from better, easier days. It was the first week of graduate school and reality hadn’t settled in yet. His fingers flipped through her credit cards, a metro pass, and some cash. The phone was conveniently dead. He flipped back through and lingered on the glossy identification card for another second. 

“Jakku Tech,” his feckless comment filled their silence. He continued: “Congratulations.” 

Rey mumbled a thank you. He placed all the items into a clear deposit bag. 

“Not sure how the Dean will handle this,” his worthless commentary continued. Rey tuned him out and studied the flashing red and blue lights. They waltzed in aimless strokes, refracting and melting. 

A firm hand touched her skin and her chills ebbed into a blaze. In a swift motion, he spun her around and everything joined the dancing lights. She was blue, and he was red. Their eyes met and the entire world seemed to burst from the seams, brimming in a kaleidoscopic shade of purple. It cascaded across their faces, the street corner, puddles, and the rain still falling. 

They crashed into one another. 

Rey felt dazed, maybe even drugged. She didn’t take a single second for granted as she studied the officer’s face. The colors blended into paint strokes behind him, the world was nothing but a mere canvas. All the shades of purple caressed them now. Everything that was not him was out of focus. Everything except his straying freckles, his full lips, the discernible contrast between his dark hair and pale face, his fixated brow ridge meeting deep-set eyes darkened by the same extent of curiosity. He swallowed and for a moment, the appearance of his Adam’s apple strayed her attention. She followed the movement down. His shoulders were as broad as a mountain ridge. A shimmer of metallic enticed her slow, studying journey. She fixated on the golden badge.

_Officer Solo._

How can you describe a sensation you’ve never experienced before? Her breath was swelling, expanding her chest to a new frontier of unexplored land. Everything started to sink — the pain in her jaw, her coding exam next week, the argument with Rose about this month’s rent, her bike being stolen. It all sunk. 

His lips were moving. They were wet from a soft drizzle from the sky, the same psychedelic color of lavender, and magenta, and wine, eggplant, plum, and boysenberry. She babbled, giving herself air again. In the short distance of the corner bar, music traveled from the jukebox still playing. Some unrecognizable ballad that matched the prismatic sway of color, light, and the way his lips trembled. It all made love to one another. 

“Are you on drugs?” He raised his voice. 

Rey snapped from it. The purple dwindled back to separate, distinct shades of red and blue. “No.” 

“Are you sure? You were unresponsive.” 

“I’m okay.” 

“Do you need to see a doctor?” 

_My health insurance is shit._ “I’m fine.” 

He surrendered his suspicious questioning and opened the door of the vehicle. His palm — _holy shit, his hands are huge_ — pressed against the back of her head. He carefully settled her into the backseat, helping her along the way while her hands remained restrained behind her back. 

“Stay put,” he warned. 

She pursed her lips, glancing around the enclosed and barred backseat. “I’ll try my best.” 

The officer rolled his eyes and slammed the door shut, sending the entire car into a rattle. Rey watched him amble back to the scene and his colleagues. He was running thick fingers through knotted hair, his other hand tucked into his utility belt as he strolled. His body eclipsed the streetlamp for a moment, passing through the parking lot like a waning moon. They were all chatting, some even throwing their heads back into cocky chuckles or sipping from styrofoam cups. 

_Fuck,_ Rey muttered to herself. She couldn’t go to jail. Orange was not her color and she had a specific diet. She couldn’t eat mush concocted in a petri dish, or share toilet paper with a someone who agreed to face tattoos. She needed to graduate. She needed to do what everyone in the world told her she couldn’t. She needed to survive and be successful so that one day she’d never result to leaving a crying baby on a doorstep. She was supposed to be the brake on a neverending carousel. 

It was harmless, too. 

The guy had been harassing her the entire night. She had not realized that when her friends had all ordered a rideshare home but she decided to stay behind to finish a pool game, that meant she was free real estate to being heckled or googly-eyed by strange men. If that was the case, she would have just left with them — would have taken shots in the kitchen and played PlayStation with Rose until they passed out on the couch together. 

The arresting officer snapped his head across the parking lot and to her direction. Rey felt her cheeks flare. 

He walked back over and opened the door. The soundtrack of outside — the police officers chatting, the bartender yelling in a cell phone, the jukebox now playing a rock anthem — flooded her ringing ears. He sighed, hanging his head. “Did you throw a knife at someone?” 

Rey looked flabbergasted. “What? No. Never.” 

“There’s a man in custody claiming that you did.” 

“Officer, I was just drinking with my friends. I don’t know how the riot broke out.” 

“You know it’s against the law to lie to me, right?” 

Rey grew silent. 

“Listen…” He glanced over his shoulder. He was studying his colleagues and the other vehicles lined up in the parking lot. “We have a lot of people in custody and that’s a lot of paperwork. You have no prior charges, and for the most part, you’re coherent. If you’re honest with me, I can talk to my superiors about letting you go home.” Rey mulled over his response. He seemed genuine. The darkness of his eyes had subsided, welcoming the flashes of red and blue. Even his lips were fuller, almost trembling in a bare, unadorned way. 

“He wouldn’t leave me alone.” 

The officer flipped open his notepad. He pressed the back of his pen against his chest and nodded for her to continue. 

“He kept calling me pet names and I fucking hate pet names.” 

He scribbled as she spoke. 

“I was finishing up my drink and planned to slip out for the train station. That was my mistake. He was persistent, he kept showing me photos of his cat and talking about the stock market.” 

The officer glanced up. Rey noted his long eyelashes. His face was indecipherable. _What was he thinking?_

“Anyway," she continued. "He didn’t take no for an answer. Eventually he worked up the courage, or poise, or _whatever-the-fuck_ to touch my leg and that’s when I grabbed the, _errr,_ utensil.” 

“The steak knife,” he corrected. 

“It was a butter knife.”

“We found a steak knife wedged into the wall.” 

“Okay, whatever. I just wanted him to leave me alone. He was bothering me. That’s when other people got involved and a fight broke out. It got out of hand and I tried to get away.” 

The silence wavered and Rey could have sworn she caught the slightest glint in his eyes. He nodded one final time and straightened up, smoothly the front of his uniform. He placed the notepad into his front chest pocket and mumbled something inaudible before closing the door — much softer this time. 

Rey watched the officer approach his circle of colleagues and the bar owner. Niima Tavern was owned by an elderly man, too chubby for the tank-top he wore and too small for the glasses that swallowed his face. He had a beard that resembled whiskers and chubby hands for scooping the ice bins. He seemed fickle, arguing and nodding with the police officer as they spoke. Their lips moved wordlessly and Rey tried her best to read their mouths and piece together the foriegn dialogue. 

The officer gestured to the car and a few eyes averted in her direction. Quickly, she bowed her head and studied the interior of the police car instead. Raindrops were dribbling down the front windshield, creating a globoided view of the world outside. Each speck of rain reflected a different color, bathing her in a prismatic scheme. The front console was overwhelming to say the least. Wires wrapped frantically, slithering through controls. A radio was playing the mundane voice of the call center and his laptop was closed. There was a bottle of water in the cup carrier and a photograph of a family resting on the dashboard. 

The arresting officer was standing in the middle of two people — people Rey had presumed were his parents. He was equal height to the father but they both easily towered over the mother. She had her arms wrapped tightly around her son, a hand resting on his chest. A soft flicker from the rain caught her attention and she fixated on a pair of golden dice dangling from the rear-view mirror. 

He pulled the front door open, frightening Rey in the process. “It’s your lucky day,” he groaned as he reached across his seat and grabbed a set of keys from the cupholder. “You will not be joining us downtown. I’ve got to say I’m a bit disappointed.” 

“Really?” Rey asked in a hopeful tone. 

“The bar owner recognizes you. He vouches for you and your friend’s behavior. He thinks you guys are incapable of causing such a racket.” 

The officer shot a doubtful gaze into the backseat. Rey just bit the inside of her cheek and smiled innocently. Her eyes followed him as the rounded the vehicle and opened the backseat. He gestured for her to turn around and she obliged, her hands still fastened behind her lowered back. 

He knelt into the cushion and fumbled with the handcuffs for a few moments. A **clank** filled the vehicle and they broke loose. She felt his touch — a single thumb — rub across the back of her hand for a second too short. It simmered in his absence, warning of the impending pain. Muscles were aching in places they normally did not. Rey rubbed her biceps, stretched her arms and flexed her wrists. Along her blue, protruding veins were red ring marks. They melted into purple contusions. 

“You’ll want to ice that when you get home,” he advised. “You won’t bruise as badly.” 

“Thank you,” Rey mumbled as she continued to rub her wrists. “Seriously. Thank you.”

He nodded, glancing away. He seemed incapable of accepting the gratitude. Maybe he was just trying to hide his flustered cheeks and stay professional. The orange hue from the street lamp gave him away, though. He exhaled sharply, pushing a hand through his errant bangs. “Do you have a ride?” 

“I can take the train,” Rey scooted across the seat. She lifted her chin to meet his eyes again. 

“It’s way too late to be wandering the stations alone,” he considered. 

“I’ll be okay.” 

The protector in him tugged at heartstrings. They played each chord like a violin. Rey could tell he was at war with himself. 

“I insist,” his eyes softened. The perplexed glance and his worried tone housed too much concern for a random, drunk stranger. Maybe it was because she was young, a student, and already intoxicated. 

“I don’t want to be a bother.” 

“This is my job.” 

Rey surrendered. “Okay, sure. Yeah. I live in the graduate building next to the science hall.” 

“I know it,” he frantically pulled his car keys from his utility belt. 

* * *

“So,” Rey leaned forward. She rested her forearms on the partition and watched him drive. “Do you always take your prisoners home afterwards?” 

He choked on his sip of water. “You’re not a prisoner.” 

“You put me in handcuffs.” 

“That’s protocol,” he wiped his chin with the back of his hand. 

“Have you ever been in handcuffs?” Rey asked. It was supposed to be an innocent question but judging by his expression; he didn’t take it that way. “I mean, like training.” 

“Oh,” he flashed a nervous excuse for a smile. “At the academy, yes.” 

“Have you ever killed anyone?” 

His answer was blunt. “No.” 

“Have you ever shot someone?”

“I’ve shot _at_ someone.” 

“Bad aim?” 

“I wasn’t trying to hit them,” he ignored her insult. “Can you sit back and put a seatbelt on, please?” 

Rey ignored him this time. “Can we turn on the sirens?”

“No.” 

“The lights?” 

“No.” 

"Pleaseeeee," Rey whined. 

"Noooo," the officer duplicated her voice. 

“Fine.” 

“Seriously,” his tone grew impatient. “Put a seatbelt on.” 

“Will you get a ticket if I don’t?” She taunted. 

“No, obviously…” His voice trailed off. He shook his head and gripped the steering wheel tighter. “I just don’t want you to get hurt if we get in an accident.” 

Rey felt betrayed by the flutter in her chest. She inched back into the seat, pulled the strap across her body, and watched the world pass by in paint strokes. The sky was turning a deep navy-blue, a sign that dawn was slowly creeping from slumber. 

The drive was short but felt like forever. Time was passing slowly in the backseat of this cop car. 

On a typical night, Rey would walk to Niima Tavern and then rideshare, or take the train back. It wasn’t a long walk, but after a few drinks at the bar, the five blocks felt like ten. She shared an apartment in one of the graduate buildings with a mechanical engineer. Rose Tico was equally audacious, half as whimsical, but exceedingly clumsy. Her toolboxes were the bane of Rey’s existence. They always found themselves in the way when she tried to sneak back in at night. 

Rey burped. She quickly covered her mouth. 

“Do not throw up in this car.” 

“I won’t,” she responded behind a muffled hand. She swallowed the acidic aftertaste. 

He flipped up the signal and turned onto the main boulevard. They passed by academic halls, the library, and the planetarium. He already knew where he was going and Rey concluded that he was assigned on campus patrol often. Graduate students were half as bad as the freshman hall, but they still dipped their toes into trouble. 

“So, how did you get stuck with the graveyard shift?” 

He glanced into the rearview mirror again. “I only work these hours on the weekends or during orientation week. It’s too busy for the campus police to keep up with the students.” His voice sounded demeaning and she forced a flat grin. “Do you have a job?” He asked. 

“I intern in the tech department. I’m a computer science major.” 

“Well, at least you won’t have to worry about your Dean finding out now.” 

She drew her eyes away from his reflected gaze in the mirror, lifted her hand to her temple and tried to hide the blush that bloomed her cheeks. A police officer was cheafurring her home. It would be a while before she’d even consider hitting a party, or a bar. She could _not_ run into him _ever_ again. 

The officer pulled the car against the curb. A few late-night students casted suspicious gazes in their direction. Rey smirked at the thought of rumors spreading that she was arrested. Maybe people would stop thinking of her as a petite, lonesome booknerd. Maybe the guy that leaves his clothing in the washing machine all day will think twice next time. 

“You look like you got hit by a truck,” he commented. “Please make sure you put ice on that.” 

“Frozen peas,” she un-clicked her seatbelt and pushed the door open. “Got it.” 

Before Rey could walk away, he rolled down the window and held out the clear bag of her personal articles. **JAKKU POLICE DEPARTMENT** was stamped across the plastic surface in bold, audacious lettering. The corner of her mouth twinged as she hurried back to the car. 

Before Rey could grab for the bag, he pulled it out of reach. “Do _not_ let me get a call on you again.” 

“I’ll stay out of trouble.” 

“I find that hard to believe,” his eyes traveled up the front of her body. Once they settled on her pleading eyes, he rolled his own and held out the plastic bag in reaching distance. They both held the bag for a second before he finally let go of it, and her. 

Slowly, Rey pivoted on her heel. She marched up the stairs of the apartment building, holding the bannister to sturdy herself. 

“Goodnight, Rey.” He called out. 

She jiggled her keys in the air and gave a lazy wave. She knew he was watching her leave, she could feel that similar sensation. “Thanks for the ride, Officer Solo.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [This](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kO_vKrVxGJM) is the song the jukebox is playing when their eyes meet for the first time.


	2. Trespassing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey goes for a swim and learns something about Officer Solo.

**Chapter Two**

* * *

**First Name:** Rey

 **Arresting Officer:** Ben O. Solo

 **Offense:** Trespassing

 **Offense Location:** Kamino Swim Club

 **Offense Time:** Approx. 22:15 

**Disposition:** Held and released, no charges

It had been a few months since Rey was arrested and she was back on her bullshit. 

“Jump!” Finn sang.

His voice rose, echoed by the others that joined the choir. Their taunts tempted Rey to the edge of the diving board. She curled her toes and took a nervous glance down. It was startling. From that height, the shadows of her friends were just rippling silhouettes consumed by a vast blue surface. The pool had a cerulean hue. It glowed like a hot, slimy lava lamp, releasing an eerie fog into the warm night. Above, the moon was at its highest and fullest, bathing the entire town in it's crescent reflection. 

Poe broke the chants with a vulgar joke. The obscenity spurred a momentary splash fight between the group. It was followed by howling, intoxicated laughter. 

Growing up, Rey never had the luxury of swimming lessons. It wasn't like the foster homes came with a pool or a membership to the local youth club. The neighborhood kids were content with a garden hose. It was paradise on the block when a fire hydrant had exploded one hot, sticky August afternoon. 

Swimming could be a skill acquired with age, rather than practice. It was something everyone eventually grasped, such as learning to walk. Kick your feet, paddle with your arms, and whatever you do — do not inhale.

Rey considered the two possible outcomes: she hits the surface and her neck snaps, thus bringing her journey through higher education to an abrupt end. Or, she sinks to the bottom and a friend has to rescue her. Then she considered how her entire life had been built on taking chances anyway. And how, most of the time, the odds were never in her favor. 

She took another step and her stomach was in her throat. 

It tasted like liquor — like the night at Niima Tavern; like the incident she never told her friends about. When Rey had woken the following morning, she had a splitting migraine, a black eye, and bruises on her wrists. She thought it was best to forget it ever happened. She told her friends it was a bar fight and that she had won — which _really_ wasn't a far reach from the truth. And before any suspicions had flourished, March had become July. 

You’d think the kids would go home to visit their families, have barbecues or vacation in the tropics. Stumbling, intoxicated students should have been replaced by rolling tumbleweed and overachievers. Most campuses would meet their demise in the summer. They’d succumb to a sort of seasonal hibernation until fall rolled around. However, Jakku University did not understand the meaning of an off season. Students lived and studied on campus all year round, and therefore, it thrived as it always did. Classrooms were full, the student center was bustling, and the basement parties only turned into pool parties. 

The continuous chaos was probably why administration was constantly out-sourcing their campus security to the local police department. It was also why Officer Solo was constantly thrown into the whirlwind of college culture, his trajectory somehow always crossing her own. Sometimes, Rey would catch him — sharp and focused, patrolling on campus grounds — and every time, she would duck into a crowd of students or hang her head to avoid eye contact. 

It hadn’t been an ungodly scheme or a cosmic coincidence, nor a fluke. He was just doing his job, and that job happened to be where Rey spent one hundred percent of her time. And it most definitely was _not_ a blessing, especially since Rey was always under _some type of influence_ when their paths would cross: adderall and caffeine throughout the day and more ruthless toxins by the night. 

...Which would explain why the world was moving in slow motion as she plummeted from the sky. 

Somewhere between the inner dialogue of her washed up, confused mind, she had eased off the edge. It felt like a thousand heartbeats ago. The moment she tipped forward, gravity had completely apprehended her. The whole world seemed to come to a gradual slow. She was floating mid-air, hovering over her friends and the swishing, wet surface like a magician, or a wizard, or any other unworldly explanation. 

She was trascendental. Celestial. 

The pool lights flickered, disturbed by her frequency. Her suspension was interrupting time and space and reality. 

The taste of burnt alcohol returned to her throat and tickled a friendly reminder that Officer Solo plagued her ability to move past that night. The thought was buried, but there. He, with his aimless moles and cutting jawline, was as tangible as ever. He manifested in her subconscious, living there like a lethal virus. 

Her knees were tucked against her chest to form the perfect canon-ball position, her mouth wide open and releasing a low, slow scream. It sounded distant, like it wasn't her own.

She had to have been falling for at least a minute. Rey was absolutely sure of it. 

And then she was under, swallowing water.

* * *

It was like passing through a portal to another dimension. 

The world was waltzing to the music of escaping bubbling babble and the low detonation of her ears popping; a livewire meeting water. She sunk to the bottom, her eyes wide open, her hair sailing above her head, and the blue lights eclipsing her body through a haze of sapphire. 

Rey had been in pursuit of it and here it was. This is what invincibility felt like. Pure, euphoric deliverance. 

For some unholy reason, Rey could not shake the feeling of being bound by his handcuffs. It was a secret she refused to confess. Yet twelve feet deep, in an ethereal realm of zero gravity and sensitivity deprivation, she embraced the truth. The unchecked, brimming frustration could be released in a shallow scream and no one, absolutely no one, would fucking hear it. Whatever. His power over her was more intoxicating than any drug she had ever taken. 

She could hear a woman singing. It crackled like a broken record. It brought her home, to a life bound by a cradle and smiling strangers and glow-in-the-dark stickers. The window was open and the fumes of the city passed through sheath curtains. The music grew louder and louder and louder, booming over the shouting of an angry parent. 

Her feet touched the cement and she kicked hard, returning to reality. 

* * *

“I did it,” Rey choked on swallowed water. 

She gasped for air, kicking fervently to stay above the surface with a stretched neck. The chlorine stung her eyes but she didn’t mind one bit. A smile continued to grow across her face. She dragged her hand down her cheek, rubbing balled fists into her eyes to clear her blurry vision. 

Immediately, realization settled and a frown infested the delirium. 

The pool was completely empty, void of her friends and any evidence of their previous attendance. The surface danced in neon light, the color of blue… and red. Her eyes met his through some unspoken magnetic force. She blinked, briefly blinded by a bright light. 

“You have got to be kidding me,” he deadpanned. 

Her voice was just as enthusiastic. “Fuck.”

The flashlight dimmed. Rey blinked and his shadow came into an undisturbed view. He tucked it into his utility belt and took a few diligent steps forward. From the low angle, he looked twice as big than he did the first time. He loomed over the edge of the pool, his glare cascaded by a shimmer of reflected water. For the smallest moment, as his eyes searched over her floating body, there was absolute silence. And then: “Well? Are you not going to try and run?”

“I don’t have the energy.” 

“You’re also soaking wet,” he observed. “That’ll definitely slow you.”

“You’ve already proven yourself faster than me,” she retorted. It spurred the smallest twinge on his lips, a sad excuse for a smile. She added, “...while dry.” 

“So,” he tucked his thumbs into a belt loop. “You _do_ remember me?”

Rey grew quiet. 

He tilted his chin and studied her through a narrowed glare. His quip was deterred, briefly betrayed by his own wandering eyes. Yet, his demeanor remained fixed. Professional. “Aaah, you do.” 

Rey rotated her arms in small circles, her feet propelling to keep afloat.

“Rey,” he warned. “Get out of the water.” 

She floated further into the center of the pool, away from the edge and his reach. “Are you going to arrest me?” She asked. 

“You’re trespassing.”

“That’s not what I asked.”

He raised a brow; bored with her banter. “The pool club is closed at this hour. You had to climb a fence to get in.” 

“Really?” Her jaw dropped as she acted surprised. “I was wondering why no one else was here.” 

He countered with an unamused frown. Her lip quivered — partly from his expression and partly from a spiraling shiver. The water seemed to get colder, flushing her from the liquid confidence that had spurred the entire evening and forcing her into an awakened sobriety. She paddled further away, nervously glancing at the gate across the yard. 

The million dollar bucket-list idea to swim in a private club after hours was not her’s. Only a daredevil such as Poe Dameron could come up with something as chaotic as that. 

If she was going to flee, now would be her only chance. She’d have to abandon her clothing, her phone, and her wallet. She’d have to climb the fence, sprint across the field barefoot, and disappear into the forest. Poe’s car would be parked a few blocks into the adjacent neighborhood, but her friends would most definitely be long gone by now. Consequently, she’d have to run across campus in a sheer shirt and wet underwear. 

Running would be futile, though. There was absolutely zero reason to even attempt. 

Plus, Officer Solo knew her full name and her residence. 

He’d catch her now, or later. 

Rey had almost forgotten he was still standing there. He was watching her, his eyes locked on the prowl. Fidgeting, he reached for his belt with impatience.

Again, Rey considered her chances. None of them were in her favor. 

“You are trespassing,” He pressed a button, allowing his utility belt to fall onto the cement. He stepped on one heel, kicking off a shoe. The other followed. “If I have to get into the water, I will also charge you with resisting arrest.” 

“And?” Rey asked. She didn’t mean for it to come out as flirtatious as it did. 

He shook his head, disapproving of her playful demeanor. “You’ll have to go to court. It’s time consuming and will ruin whatever is left of your summer. You’ll have to hire a lawyer if you want to avoid a substantial charge. You’ll pay a hefty fine. They’ll smack you with court fees, too.” The color in her face dissipated as he spoke. He continued. “On top of that, the charge will stain your record. You’ll have to explain why you trespassed and resisted my arrest. Every time you apply for a scholarship, for a job, for a loan to buy a house, or a car. Every single time, you will have to disclose the charge.” 

She fidgeted. For a moment, she was swallowed by the water. It revitalized her anxious paddles. She choked, “Will my visa be revoked?” 

He paused before he could shrug off his harness. 

The crisp English accent should have been a dead giveaway, even if it was always slurred by alcohol. Regardless, it still hit him in some weird, heartfelt way. He cleared his throat. “Yes, Rey. You could lose any possibility of citizenship.” 

Her voice grew quieter. Honest. “I don’t want to be sent back.” 

“I don’t want you to either,” he sounded softer. “Please, get out of the water.” 

Rey nodded. Slowly, she drifted back towards him and the edge of the pool. 

He knelt onto the cement and outstretched an open hand, “C’mon.” Rey stared at the gesture. His skin was calloused from past hardship, yet softened by time. “Let’s get you dry,” he compromised. “And then we can talk about your choices.” 

A small part of her wanted to tug him in, to push him beneath and squeeze the oxygen from his lungs, to punish him for threatening everything she had worked so hard to overcome. 

One reckless summer night of her adolescence could not possibly conquer the abandonment, the years of neglect in a hopeless system, the hard work she put into a better life. 

Against his better judgement, he muttered. “Please.” 

She took his hand and squeezed. 

Officer Solo tugged, easily hoisting her out of the water.

* * *

“You lied to me.”

He tightened the handcuffs around her wrists. “It's just a precaution.” 

“They hurt,” she whined, wobbling forward. 

Officer Solo grasped her shoulder and with a tight squeeze, he steadied her. 

Rey’s confidence in her sobriety dissolved like melted salt rim. She was drunk; inexcusably so. Had she really jumped from the diving board — or did she fall?

A shiver scaled her spine as miniscule bumps flared along her dripping wet, bare skin. She was attentive enough to remember her lack of clothing. The brisk evening was pinching at flesh, nipping through her thin cotton shirt. 

He drew his eyes away. “Are these yours?”

The world spun when she nodded. Was it the alcohol that made her weak in the knees? Or her wrists bound behind her back? Was it him? 

He knelt beside the lounge chair, fumbling through the puddle of clothing. Her book-bag was tossed nearby, her shoes and other loose articles lying on the cement sporadically. He paused for a moment, his shoulders tensing and challenging the hem of his blue uniform. He lifted up a man’s Jakku University lacrosse tee, his eyes narrowing suspiciously. “Is this yours as well?” 

“Uh,” Rey eyed Finn’s shirt. “Yes.” 

“What did I say last time? About lying to a police officer?”

“It’s,” she fumbled, her voice slurring. “My friend’s.” 

A muscle beneath his eye twitched. He pursed his lips, “So. Your friends invited you out for a carefree night, and when they saw the police lights, they ran for it?” 

Rey faltered. 

He took notice.

When she realized he was waiting for a proper response, she bowed her head. “I’m quite used to being abandoned.”

Somewhere, the comment must’ve hit him. His eyes softened, the dancing light on his face making them a bronzed, dewy honey. He cleared his throat before his emotions could deceive him. He peeled his eyes away before they’d trail the length of her body again, and continued to collect her belongings instead. 

Silence grew. Rey’s balance wavered again.

“You know,” he murmured. “I understand exactly how you’re feeling, and there’s no reason to be afraid. My parents wanted me to attend law school but I preferred the physical aspect of it, rather than the statute. It took a long time to earn their respect… to not be a disappointment.” 

He was being empathetic, or at least trying to be. Rey felt her knees buckle. 

“Sometimes I felt abandoned. Or, alone —” 

The sound of water splashing interrupted his story. 

* * *

_“This has soy, right?”_

_Finn glared. “I’ve been getting your coffee since freshman year.”_

_“You can never be too sure,” Rey defended herself. Her eyes reached over her best friend’s shoulders and across the quad. A magnetic field fizzed through the air like a tangible force. Their eyes met and the world seemed to split like a chasm. The students sharing picnic food, the frisbee flying mid-air, the debate team handing out flyers — all of it parted and froze._

_Her exhale caught in her throat._

_The officer did not avert his gaze. Instead, he maintained it._

_He had to have recognized her, too._

_Rey wondered what she looked like to him: tight running shorts and messy buns, textbooks laid aimlessly open and an iced coffee leaking through the crated tabletop and onto her knees. Her friend — a guy — complaining in a distant voice, his lacrosse stick leaning against the table, his baseball cap backwards on his head. Her lips spreading into a welcoming smile, very much against her better judgement. Her happiness to see him on fully display and —_

_“Earth to Rey,” Finn snapped his fingers. “You have an exam in twenty minutes and you’re spacing out.”_

_“What?” Rey tore her attention away. “Sorry, I’m here.”_

_Finn pointed to his highlighted study guide. He read his notes aloud, his annoyed voice growing in cadence. It blended into celebration, birds chirping, and cars honking._

_Against her better judgement, she caved. She snuck a peek and glanced across the quad again. The frisbee landed into grasping hands, chaos ensued, and the police officer was already long gone._

* * *

Without a moment’s hesitation, Officer Solo had shrugged off his holster and dived into the pool. 

Her sinking body was helpless with her hands bound. Air escaped parted lips in a bubbling tango, obscuring his descent. He swam aggressively, trailing her down as they immersed. An anxiety spiked his adrenaline — a fear he could cause further damage than good. A mistake he used to make. Often. 

He outstretched his arm as far as it possibly could, frantically reaching for any grasp on her. His fingers just barely grazed her shirt, and then… Officer Solo wrapped an arm tightly around her waist and squeezed. Instinctively, she tucked her head into his neck. 

He kicked hard off the bottom of the pool. 

There was something about being underwater. The rise felt perpetual and allowed them to simmer within it. On the brink of swallowing death, they were forced to hold their breath just a while longer. 

She felt cold. 

* * *

Rey’s eyes shot open. She fell over and choked up the water, her throat tightening and her lips bruised a deep navy. He was leaning over her, his palms holding each side of her face. _What was he doing just seconds ago?_

“I’m calling an ambulance.” 

“Don’t,” Rey burped. Before she could argue any further, she was spilling over and vomiting whatever else had resided in her stomach. 

* * *

He drove with one wrist over the steering wheel and he didn’t even need directions to find her apartment. They were both dripping wet, their soggy clothing drenching the seat cushions beneath them. The ride was utterly silent and Rey preferred that to a condescending speech about her rebellious behavior. 

He had the heat on blast and she swam in an oversized Jakku Police Department bomber jacket. If she tucked her chin beneath the collar and inhaled, she was filled with an intoxicating scent of laundry detergent and black coffee. 

“I’m not doing this because I want to,” he broke the silence. 

_Sure,_ Rey thought. She sunk further into the passenger’s seat, wishing for a hole to swallow her entire embarrassing existence. _It had nothing to do with the fact that you broke protocol and my life endangerment would be more paperwork than an arrest._

“My boss at the station would give me a hard time for this,” he mumbled. “And I don’t think being deported is a justifiable consequence for swimming.” 

Rey bit her bottom lip. 

“I should have gotten you for throwing that knife,” he added. 

She released a small laugh, clasping a hand over her mouth to conceal her sly smile. Again, the corner of his mouth tugged but he refused to relinquish his professionalism fully. 

“Can I ask you a question?” 

They reached an intersection and he came to a slow stop. He peered across at her. Bathed by the red light, she noticed the damp curls glued to his forehead, the shell of his ears peeking through wet hair. 

“Are you close to your parents now?” She recalled the first time she was in his police car and the family photo she observed on his dashboard. 

“I am,” he admitted. He withheld his surprise that she had been listening when he rambled about his family life. “It took time to repair our relationship, though.” 

Rey nodded. 

“Are you close to your parents?” He countered. 

Her answer was blunt. “No.” 

“Then your actions have no one to disappoint but yourself.”

Rey groaned. The light turned green and he pulled into the lot of her apartment building. She unbuckled her seatbelt, wanting nothing more than a warm shower and dry pair of pajamas. 

He pulled against the curb and parked. 

“Thanks,” Rey muttered.

“Take this,” he dug through his uniform pocket and handed her a business card. It was damp and silently wrinkled from their swim. “Before you get yourself into anymore trouble, give me a call.”

Rey held the flimsy piece of paper between her fingers. She read the words over and over until it bled into her vision permanently. _Benjamin O. Solo._

He fastened his lips at her unbearable silence, watching as she studied the gift and clung to it like a lifeline. “Get some rest, okay?” 

“Thank you,” she smiled at him. “Thank you, Benjamin.”

“I prefer Ben.”

“Of course,” she nodded hastily. “Ben.” 

Rey grasped the door handle and climbed out, easing back into her balance. The night was still young, yet morning light started to bleed into the navy-blue of the horizon. She shrugged off the bomber jacket and against her wishes, handed it back to him. He traded it for her bookbag. 

Just the thought of the million missed messages she had gave her a migraine. She planned to make Finn buy her coffee for the rest of her life. 

He pointed to her hand and the card it held. “Emergencies only,” his chin tilted, his voice forewarning. 

Rey smiled devilishly. She twisted a pointer and middle finger around one another. “I promise.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [This](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6wjCcWC2aE) is the song Rey hears while she's underwater.


End file.
